Lady Bulldog guard Shyanne McWhorter’s defensive pressure forced Metcalfe County’s Riley Eskridge to pull up her dribble and look for open teammates during first half action Friday night at Clinton County. The Lady Bulldogs fell to 1-3 on the season after losing to the Lady Hornets, 41-32.

Hitting the hardwood on consecutive nights last week proved to be a lose-lose for the Lady Bulldogs who suffered losses on both Friday night at home as well as on Saturday night on the road.

Clinton County gave up the two losses beginning with a 41-32 decision that came at the hands of 16th District opponent Metcalfe County Friday, followed by a 60-46 loss on Saturday night that was delivered by 4th Region opponent Greenwood.

Both contests were disappointing but likely eye-opening for the team as in both cases, the Lady Dawgs were in contention for a possible win as late as in the fourth quarter.

The pair of losses put the Lady Dawgs at a 1-3 mark going into this week’s portion of the schedule that was to see Clinton County taking on its other two 16th District opponents, hosting Cumberland County on Tuesday night (too late for coverage this week), and traveling to Russell County on Friday night to take on the Lady Lakers.

The week will be capped off for Clinton County when they play the third game in a five-day span, hosting the Lady Falcons of Monroe County this Saturday in a make-up contest from an earlier postponement.

Clinton County – 32

Metcalfe County – 41

A dismal second half performance on Clinton County’s part translated into a nine- point defeat last Friday night when the Lady Bulldogs played host to 16th District opponent Metcalfe County, eventually giving up the nine point loss, 41-32.

Clinton County got off to a nice start against the Lady Hornets, running out to an 8-3 lead after scoring from Tara Elmore and Kayla Dicken combined to put the Lady Dawgs out in front.

It became clear early however that the Lady Hornets would be a team that would live by the three or die by the three, and if they ever found their range, they would likely be hard to handle.

Although the Lady Bulldogs held the early lead, Metcalfe County was getting good looks from beyond the three point range, but had early problems hitting the mark.

Despite putting up a full court, man to man defense, the Lady Bulldogs were unable to stop Metcalfe County’s long range attempts, and after missing the first nine shots from three point range, the Lady Hornets’ Jordan Samuels hit the team’s first three pointer at the buzzer to close out the opening quarter, breaking an 8-8 tie to take an 11-8 lead into the second quarter of play

Metcalfe County hit their next two three- point attempts as the second quarter got underway, putting the Lady Hornets out in front by nine, 17-8.

Clinton County showed their determination to not be shut-out of contention early in the contest, storming back as the second quarter came to an end with Alex Beard, Ansley Stalcup, Dicken and Elmore adding scoring down the stretch to close the gap at halftime to only two points with Metcalfe holding the narrow margin, 21-19.

Both squads again found themselves having problems finding the basket as the second half got underway.

Clinton County managed to make only two field goals during the eight minute period, an early basket by Stalcup, and the team’s only three point goal of the game that came when Elmore hit the mark with 1:01 showing on the clock to pull the Lady Dawgs to within four, 28-24.

For the second time, Metcalfe County’s Samuels closed out a quarter with a buzzer-beating three point basket, this time giving the Lady Hornets a seven point advantage, 31-24.

Clinton County never overcame the Lady Hornets as the contest went through the fourth and final quarter, although with less than two minutes to play, the Lady Bulldogs were still within reach of a victory, trailing by just five points, 36-31, with 1:35 still on the clock.

The Lady Hornets finished the final minute dropping in five free throws to outscore Clinton County 5-1 in those crucial closing seconds to pick up the nine-point victory, 41-32.

Clinton County finished the game shooting 20 percent from the floor, hitting 10 of 50 attempts and dropping in only one of 10 shots from three point range.

From the line, the Lady Dawgs were 11 of 18 attempts for 61 percent.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Dicken 10

Stalcup 9

Elmore 8

Beard 4

Boils 1

Clinton County – 46

Greenwood – 60

Clinton County’s Lady Bulldogs saw the wheels fall off of its game down the stretch Saturday night in Bowling Green, losing a lead and eventually a 14 point decision at the hands of the Lady Gators of Greenwood, 60-46.

After putting together a first half performance that gave the impression the Lady Bulldogs might be on track to pick up a much needed win against a 4th Region opponent, Clinton County’s second half-performance all but dashed those hopes last Saturday night in Bowling Green.

Clinton County had a nice first half effort and took a three point lead to the halftime dressing room, then followed with a lackluster second half effort that resulted in the lop-sided loss for the Lady Dawgs.

Clinton County got off to a quick start last Saturday in Bowling Green, with Kayla Dicken putting in back to back field goals to give her Big Blue team a 4-2 lead in the early going of the contest.

Both teams fought back and forth throughout that first quarter, and a Lady Gator basket that just beat the first quarter ending buzzer gave Greenwood the lead going into the second period of action, 9-8.

After a scoreless opening minute to get the second quarter started, the Lady Dawgs picked up a 12-11 advantage, before falling behind 17-12 with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.

The Lady Dawgs bounced back with an 8-0 run to close out the first half in control of a three point, 20-17 lead, and what appeared to be control of the game’s momentum.

As the second half got underway and progressed, Clinton County continued to hold the upper hand, showing self-control and looking as if the goal of picking up a victory over the Lady Gators had been first and foremost in their plan.

Clinton County moved out to a 33-24 lead mid-way through the quarter when, just as suddenly as their game had come together, it fell apart, opening the door for Greenwood to put together an 18-3 run in the final 3:30 to close the third in control of a 44-36 advantage.

After spending much of the game on the bench in foul trouble, and logging only a fraction of the minutes she normally sees, Lady Bulldog Kayla Dicken fouled out of the contest after committing two fouls in the first minutes of that fourth quarter.

The hole that Dicken’s absence seemed to create in the Lady Bulldog back line, seemed to be the last straw for Clinton County.

With Greenwood moving out from what had been a reachable 45-40 lead, to make a 15-6 run in the final 6:00, the Lady Gators made it to the final buzzer with a 14 point victory over Clinton County, 60-46.

Individual scoring for the Lady Bulldogs was:

Stalcup 13

Dicken 10

Beard 6

Elmore 5

McWhorter 5

Boils 4

Bookout 3